A Jewish Approach to Eating Disorders
By Eddie Samuels
The underlying challenges of eating disorders are no different in Jewish
patients than others. But The Renfrew
Center’s liaison to the Jewish community,
Sarah Bateman, spoke to the AJT about
the center’s Jewish programming and
specific struggles and successes of Jewish
patients.
“We don’t have numbers [on Jews
with eating disorders] but we know it’s
a problem,” she said. “I try to stay really
focused on how it manifests differently.”
The Renfrew Center, which has several locations including one in Atlanta,
aims to ensure that Jewish patients are
comfortable and accommodated for all
levels of observance while in the program, such as keeping Shabbat, celebrating holidays and eating kashrut.
“Since 2009 we’ve had special programming for Jewish women with eating
disorders, which we are in the process of
reworking right now,” Bateman said. “For
the past two years we’ve been using a
unified treatment model developed from
David Barlow’s Unified Protocol. … One
of the things we’re doing now is looking

24 | AUGUST 16, 2019 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Simply shifting the mindset around
that can be a big step, Bateman said.
“Instead of looking at that as: I do
this every single week, what am I supposed to do? We can look at it as an accomplishment: I do this every single
week!” she said. “We can plan for this
and make it a part of your meal plan and
treatment plan.”
With the high holidays quickly approaching, Bateman also mentioned a
few of the challenges for those recovering from eating disorders around holidays, especially those that are traditionally centered around food.
“It’s very challenging, and it’s the
same thing with Jews and non-Jews. It’s
really important to take the focus off the
food and think more about the holiday.
Why do they observe it? Is there a way
for them to consciously put the focus on
something other than the food?”
She added that even with holidays
like Passover, where the traditions can
Renfrew’s Atlanta-area treatment center.
seem so directly tied to a meal, there is
at Jewish values and seeing how they can an assessment in which they discuss lev- more to it.
“Unfortunately, we put the focus on
els of observance and necessary accomhelp with this treatment process.”
the meal a lot of the time. … Being able
Bateman explained that initially, modations.
“We also assess how their beliefs and to enjoy the meal and get that feeling of
Jewish patients who wish to can undergo
Judaism, more generally, affect them and fulfillment is an important part of treatmay have affected the development of ment, but we don’t want the focus to be
their eating disorder, and what accom- all on the food,” she said.
Fasting is another big question for
modations we can make for them,” she
said. “That can mean anywhere from ko- Jewish patients and Bateman noted that
sher food to working through issues with there is no specific rule stopping those
with eating disorders from fasting, but
specific groups.”
She noted that a values-based ap- additional caution is warranted around
proach was a core part of the center’s Yom Kippur.
“There are guidelines that we work
unified treatment model, and using Jewish values with Jewish patients is espe- with a rabbi to enforce. Someone with
a history of anorexia,
cially important. For
who has been very reexample, she said, “Life
stricted and has been
comes first in Judaism,
triggered similarly in
and that’s something
the past, should not fast
we repeat a lot. These
at all,” she said. “It can
behaviors are harmbe extremely challengful, and there’s a higher
ing for someone with
mortality rate with anan eating disorder to
orexia than any other
not fast. There are conmental illness. It’s not
cerns about being differjust about wanting to
ent from everyone else
look thin; this is a deadly
who is fasting that often
mental illness.”
come up.”
While often holiShe recommended
days can be difficult
using the high holidays
times for patients, Bateas a time for reflection.
man explained that JewSarah Bateman
“If we use this as
ish practices can also
an opportunity to think about what we
create those same difficulties.
“Obviously we have Shabbat, so while want and what we believe in and set
I have non-Jewish patients coming to me some positive, healthy goals, we can
around the holidays asking, ‘How do I get work on tolerating the emotions,” she
through a holiday meal?’ Jewish patients said “We can ask: Are my behaviors
matching my beliefs?” ■
deal with that every week,” she said.